The Southern Baptist Convention Takes Major Step To Oust Churches With Female Pastors

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has approved a constitutional amendment banning women from offices of leadership within the church.

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Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr., the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President, brought forward the proposed amendment, which passed the two-thirds majority vote required to change the constitution. 6,028 members (74.66 percent) voted for the amendment and 2,026 (25.09 percent) against, with 20 votes (0.25 percent) disallowed.

The “Truth and Unity Amendment” states that any church cooperating with the Southern Baptist Convention cannot “act to affirm, appoint, or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, such as preaching to the assembled congregation.”

“There’s a great line that divides liberal and biblical evangelicalism, and you can see it on this very issue. The trajectory of liberal denominations is clear,” Mohler said. “The Southern Baptist Convention, in adopting the Baptist message in the year 2000, stated confessionally that the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. Subsequent years — 26 subsequent years — have demonstrated that we need constitutional clarity on this issue.” (RELATED: Faith Organization Offers Surprisingly Simple Way To Get People Back In Pews)

The vote happened after a short debate where Pastor Doug Mize from First Baptist Church in Greer, South Carolina, contested that the amendment was unnecessary and moving beyond the SBC’s authority.

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“We’ve already said it, it’s in our Baptist Faith and Message,” Mize argued.

Pastor Colin Smothers from First Baptist Church in Maize, Kansas, insisted that Mohler’s amendment was necessary and relevant.

“We can hardly turn to the right or the left without finding confusion about gender,” he said. “What better way to express our countercultural commitment to the goodness of God’s Word than to affirm God’s creation order related to the office of pastor?”

In order to become a permanent part of the SBC’s constitution, the amendment will be re-introduced at the annual convention in Indianapolis in 2027. If it again receives a minimum two-thirds vote, it will become permanent.

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